Method of formatting a disk recording medium and information recording apparatus

ABSTRACT

An apparatus ( 22 ) for recording and reproducing digital information uses a disk recording medium ( 23 ) in which data recording area is divided into plural zones in the radial direction, and defect information is managed for each zone. The apparatus comprises a formatting portion ( 26 ) for executing the formatting process of the disk recording medium ( 23 ), a detecting portion ( 24 ) for obtaining defect information that were detected in the last formatting process of the disk recording medium ( 23 ), and a controlling portion ( 25 ) for informing the formatting portion ( 26 ) of a zone to be formatted next in the decreasing order of the number of defects in accordance with the defect information obtained by the detecting portion ( 24 ).

This is a divisional of application Ser. No. 09/703,848, filed Nov. 1,2000 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,587,418.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a method of formatting a disk recordingmedium in which data recording area is divided into plural zones in theradial direction, and defect information is managed for each of theplural zones, a recording medium that is formatted by this method and anapparatus for recording and reproducing digital information using thedisk recording medium.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Recently, a process time necessary for formatting (i.e., initializing) adisk recording medium such as an optical disc or a magneto-optic diskbecomes longer because of high density and large storage capacity. Forexample, a magneto-optic disk (MO) having the storage capacity of 1.3gigabytes that has been in the practical use recently requiresapproximately 20 minutes of process time. A magneto-optic disk havingthe storage capacity of 2.6 gigabytes that is under development willrequires nearly an hour of process time for formatting process. The term“format” in this specification means so-called physical format.

In the formatting process, certification is performed, i.e., apredetermined bit pattern is recorded over the entire data recordingarea and reproduced for verifying. If a defect (a defective sector) isdetected, an alternative sector is assigned, and a list of thealternation information is recorded in a management informationrecording area that is called a defect management area (DMA). Normally,four DMA areas are provided to a disk recording medium, i.e., two at themost inner radius and two at the most outer radius of the disk, andmemorize the same alternation information.

A recent disk recording medium normally has a data recording area thatis divided into plural zones in the radial direction. A rotation speedis changed for each zone in the ZCAV type, while a linear speed forreading is changed for each zone in the ZCLV type. A spare area for theabove-mentioned alternative sector is provided to each zone. Forexample, the data recording area of a magneto-optic disk having thestorage capacity of 640 megabytes is divided into eleven zones, whilethe data recording area of a magneto-optic disk having the storagecapacity of 1.3 gigabytes is divided into eighteen zones. In accordancewith the kind of a disk recording medium, a term “band” is used insteadof “zone”.

Conventionally, in an inspection stage of a disk recording media, forexample, the above-mentioned formatting process is performed by a unitof plural sectors sequentially from the inner radius to the outer radiusof the disk recording medium or in the opposite direction. For example,in a magneto-optic disk having storage capacity of 128 megabytes, 230megabytes, 540 megabytes or 640 megabytes, a logical start address(LBA0) is located in the most inner radius. In these magneto-opticdisks, the formatting process is performed sequentially from the innerradius to the outer radius. In a magneto-optic disk having storagecapacity of 1.3 gigabytes, a logical start address (LBA0) is located inthe most outer radius, and the formatting process is performedsequentially from the outer radius to the inner radius.

An example of the conventional formatting process will be explained withreference to FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG. 1 is a block diagram concerning theformatting process of the conventional magneto-optic disk drive. FIG. 2shows a table of the order of the formatting process. FIG. 3 is aflowchart of the formatting process.

When a host 11 issues the command for a formatting magneto-optic disk 13to a magneto-optic disk drive 12 (Step #101), a formatting portion 14 ofthe magneto-optic disk drive 12, as shown in FIG. 2, determines theformatting order of zone of the magneto-optic disk 13 in accordance withthe ascending order of the logical address (Step #102). Erasing, writingand verifying processes are performed for each zone. If an error occurs,retry processes are repeated for predetermined times (Step #103). Writedata are initializing data that can be set, e.g., a hexadecimal value“CF23” as a default value.

If the error is not canceled by the retry (YES in Step #104), the sectoris considered to be a defective sector, and an alternative sector isassigned and defect information (i.e., a primary defect location; PDL)is registered in the DMA (Step #106). Before Step #106, it is checkedwhether the accumulated number of defects has exceeded the allowabletotal number of defects (Step #105). The allowable total number ofdefects is determined as a standardized value in accordance with thekind of a recording medium. For example, total 4,437 defects are allowedto a magneto-optic disk having the storage capacity of 1.3 gigabytes. Ifthe number of defects has exceeded the standardized value, themagneto-optic disk drive 12 halts the formatting process and informs thehost 11 of an error that the number of defects has exceeded thestandardized value, i.e., of a defect number exceeding error (Step#110). In this case, the magneto-optic disk 13 cannot be used since theformatting process has not been completed.

If the number of defects does not exceed the standardized value, theformatting process continues. When the format of the designated zone hasfinished (YES in Step #107), the next zone is formatted by repeating theformatting process. When all zones have been formatted (YES in Step#108), the magneto-optic disk drive 12 informs the host 11 of normalcompletion of the formatting process (Step #109) and finishes theprocess.

The above-mentioned physical format is performed for erasing all data ofa recording medium or for reexamining a recording medium andreregistering defective sectors so that the recording medium can be usedsecurely after long term use has increased errors or elongated accesstime of the recording medium.

As explained above, since the conventional formatting process isperformed sequentially from the inner radius to the outer radius of thedisk recording medium or in the opposite direction in accordance withthe ascending order of the logical address, the defect number exceedingerror can occur in the final zone or just before the final zone. In thiscase, the process time used for the formatting process before that iswasted since the recording medium cannot be used. As mentioned above,almost 20 minutes can be waste in the case of formatting a magneto-opticdisk having the storage capacity of 1.3 gigabytes.

This time loss can be an obstacle to productivity improvement in aninspection stage of a disk recording media. In addition, when a userperforms the physical format of a disk recording medium, it would not beendurable if the recording medium cannot be used because of formattingerror after waiting for the long formatting process time.

Furthermore, a user has to wait a long time before the physical formatis completed in the conventional formatting process even if only a partof the recording area of the recording medium is used, since theconventional formatting process performs the physical format of allareas.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to detect the defect numberexceeding error at the earliest possible time in the formatting processof a disk recording medium if the recording medium becomes unusablebecause of the defect number exceeding error finally. Another object ofthe present invention is to shorten the time necessary for the physicalformat.

A method of the present invention for formatting a disk recording mediumcomprises the steps of dividing a data recording area of the diskrecording medium into plural zones in the radial direction, formattingthe plural zones in a discontinuous order, and managing defectinformation for each of the plural zones.

A disk recording medium of the present invention comprises a datarecording area being divided into plural zones in the radial direction,a defect management area for managing defect information for each of theplural zones, and the plural zones being formatted in a discontinuousorder.

An apparatus of the present invention for recording and reproducingdigital information uses a disk recording medium in which a datarecording area is divided into plural zones in the radial direction, anddefect information is managed for each of the plural zones. A firstaspect of the apparatus comprises means for formatting the diskrecording medium, means for detecting defect information of the diskrecording medium, and means for controlling the order of format byinforming the formatting means of a zone to be formatted next in thedecreasing order of the number of defects in accordance with the defectinformation detected by the detecting means.

A second aspect of the apparatus comprises means for formatting the diskrecording medium, means for detecting medium information such as amanufacturer of the disk recording medium, and means for controlling theorder of format by informing the formatting means of a zone to beformatted next in the preregistered order corresponding to the mediuminformation detected by the detecting means. Preferably, a defectprobability for each zone (a characteristic table) that alters inaccordance with the medium information such as a manufacturer ismemorized in a memory of the controlling means.

A third aspect of the apparatus comprises means for formatting the diskrecording medium, and means for controlling the order of format byinforming the formatting means of a zone to be formatted next at aninterval of one or more zones and of the neighboring zones if the numberof defects in the zone is higher than the threshold value.

Preferably, in the first through the third aspects of the apparatus, thedisk recording medium is a land and groove recording type in which dataare recorded in both lands and grooves, defect information of each zoneis managed for lands and grooves separately, and the order of format isdetermined for the lands and the grooves of each zone.

In a fourth aspect, the apparatus formats a DMA area for recording thedefect information before formatting a user data area, and finishes theformatting process as an error without formatting the user data area ifa defect occurs during the formatting process of the DMA area.

Preferably, plural DMA areas for recording the same defect informationare provided at plural positions of the disk recording medium, and theapparatus formats the user data area from the zone in which the DMA areahaving a defect is included if a part of the DMA areas has a defect andother parts have no defect.

According to the above-mentioned formatting method and informationrecording and reproducing apparatus, the formatting process is performednot in sequential order from the inner radius to the outer radius of thedisk recording medium or in the opposite direction in accordance withthe order of the logical address as conventional, but in thediscontinuous order such as the decreasing order of the number ofdefects that were detected in the last format or the number of potentialdefects that can be prefigured in accordance with characteristics of thedisk recording medium. Therefore, when the defect number exceeding erroroccurs, it can be detected at an earlier stage than the conventionalformatting process in which the format is performed in accordance withthe order of the logical address.

Another method according to the present invention for formatting a diskrecording medium that has a data recording area being divided intoplural zones in the radial direction and defect information beingmanaged for each of the plural zones comprises the steps of obtainingSDL (secondary defect location) information of the disk recording mediumby defect information obtaining means, detecting zones having the SDLinformation as zones to be certified, and certifying only the zones thatwere detected to be certified by erasing, writing and verifying.

Still another method according to the present invention for formatting adisk recording medium comprises the steps of reading data of each zoneby initialized data reading portion, detecting zones having data exceptinitialized data as zones to be certified, and certifying only the zonesthat were detected to be certified by erasing, writing and verifying. Inorder to decide whether a zone is to be certified or not, theinitialized data reading portion can read all data of each zone.However, it is preferable that the initialized data reading portion reada part of data, e.g., a predetermined number of sectors of the leadingportion, the middle portion and the end portion of each zone.

It is preferable that the above-mentioned formatting methods furthercomprise the step of performing a host of the time until the finish ofthe formatting process by process time informing means.

It is also preferable that the above-mentioned formatting methodsfurther comprise the step of performing quasi certification of the zonesthat were not detected to be certified. As the quasi certify, there aretwo well-known methods. In one method, only a read check of data isperformed. In the other method, only a read check of ECC (data forcheck) is performed.

According to the above-mentioned formatting method, total time necessaryfor the physical format can be shortened since the certificationincluding the steps of erasing, writing and verifying is not executedfor zones that do not need the certification, or the quasi certificationis executed for these zones instead of the normal certification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram concerning the formatting process of theconventional magneto-optic disk drive.

FIG. 2 shows a table of the order of the formatting process.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the formatting process in the conventionalmagneto-optic disk drive.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram concerning the formatting process of amagneto-optic disk drive according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 5 shows a table of the formatting process order in themagneto-optic disk drive corresponding to a first embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the formatting process in the magneto-opticdisk drive corresponding to the first embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 7 shows a table of the formatting process order in themagneto-optic disk drive according to a second embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of the formatting process in the magneto-opticdisk drive according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 shows a table of the formatting process order in themagneto-optic disk drive according to a third embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of the formatting process in the magneto-opticdisk drive according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 shows a map of a magneto-optic disk concerning a fourthembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 shows a structure of a physical address indicating informationof a sector that is a unit for data recording in the data recordingarea.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a process that the controlling portion ofthe magneto-optic disk drive performs in the fourth embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 14 shows a table of the information memorized in the DMA inspectionresult memory portion of the magneto-optic disk drive according to thefourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a detail flowchart of the process formatting the user dataarea in the magneto-optic disk drive according to the fourth embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 16 shows a table of an example of calculating the number of theband to be formatted next in accordance with the data memorized in theinspection result memory portion of the magneto-optic disk driveaccording to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing an example in which the first embodimentis combined to the fourth embodiment of the present invention fordetermining the order of the user data area formatting.

FIG. 18 shows a table of information memorized in the format ordermemorizing portion of the magneto-optic disk drive according to thefourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 shows a table of information memorized in the format ordermemorizing portion when the magneto-optic disk is a land and groove typerecording medium in which data are recorded both in lands and grooves.

FIG. 20 is a block diagram concerning a formatting process of amagneto-optic disk drive according to a fifth embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 21 shows the first half of a flowchart of a physical formattingprocess according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 22 shows the latter half of a flowchart of a physical formattingprocess according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 23 is a block diagram concerning a formatting process of amagneto-optic disk drive according to a sixth embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 24 shows the first half of a flowchart of a physical formattingprocess according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 25 shows the latter half of a flowchart of a physical presentinvention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in detail withreference to embodiments and accompanied drawings.

A first embodiment of the present invention will be explained withreference to FIGS. 4 to 6. FIG. 4 is a block diagram concerning theformatting process of a magneto-optic disk drive according to a firstembodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 shows a table of theformatting process order. FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the formattingprocess.

As an example, a magneto-optic disk 23 that was formatted is formattedagain. In this case, defect information (e.g., the number of defects,physical addresses of the defects) of the magneto-optic disk 23 that wasdetected in the last formatting process is recorded in the DMA area. Ifthe magneto-optic disk 23 has been used for a long time, the number ofdefects may increase because the recording film may be deterioratedsince the last formatting process. However, the distribution of thenumber of defects for each zone does not alter usually. Therefore, thereis a high possibility that the zone having many defects at the lastformatting process will have many defects in the new formatting process,too.

When the magneto-optic disk 23 is inserted in a magneto-optic disk drive22, a detecting portion 24 of the magneto-optic disk drive 22 obtainsdefect information of the last formatting process that is recorded inthe DMA area (Step #201). When a host 21 issues a command for formattingthe magneto-optic disk 23 to the magneto-optic disk drive 22 (Step#202), a controlling portion 25 of the magneto-optic disk drive 22informs the formatting portion 26 of a zone to be formatted in thedecreasing order of the number of defects in accordance with the defectinformation of the last formatting process obtained by the detectingportion 24 (Step #203).

In the example of FIG. 5, the formatting process starts from No. 15 zonehaving the most defects. Then, the formatting process is performed inthe order of No. 11 zone, No. 2 zone, No. 8 zone and No. 5 zone. Afterthat, zones having no defect are formatted in the order of zone number.

In Step #204, the designated zone is formatted. If an error occurs,retrials are performed predetermined times. If the error is not canceledafter the retrials (YES in Step #205), it is considered that the sectoris a defective sector, and an alternative sector is assigned to thesector, which is registered as defect information in the DMA (Step#207). However, before the process, the accumulated number of defects upto then is checked. If the accumulated number of defects has exceededthe allowable total number of defects, the formatting process is haltedand the host 21 is informed of the occurrence of the defect numberexceeding error (Step #211).

If the number of defects has not succeeded the allowable total number,the formatting process continues. When the formatting process of thedesignated zone is finished (YES in Step #208), the next zone isformatted in the same way. When all zones are formatted (YES in Step#1209), the host 21 is informed of the normal completion of theformatting process (Step #210), and the process is finished.

According to this embodiment, the formatting process is executed in thedecreasing order of the potential defects that can be prefigured inaccordance with the defect information detected in the last formattingprocess. Therefore, when the defect number exceeding error occurs, itcan be detected at an earlier stage than the conventional formattingprocess in which the format is performed in accordance with the order ofthe logical address. In other words, the waiting time until the defectnumber exceeding error occurs can be shortened.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be explainedwith reference to FIGS. 4, 7 and 8. FIG. 7 shows a table of theformatting process order in the magneto-optic disk drive according tothe second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a flowchart ofthe formatting process. The block diagram concerning the formattingprocess is the same as the first embodiment shown in FIG. 4.

In the present embodiment, the formatting process is executed in thedecreasing order of the number of potential defects in accordance withmedium information such as a manufacturer that is recorded as controltrack information of the magneto-optic disk 23. In general, amagneto-optic disk has a tendency of uneven distribution of defects inthe inner or the outer zone depending on a manufacturer or otherfactors. Therefore, the execution of the formatting process in thedecreasing order of the number of potential defects in accordance withmedium information such as a manufacturer can shorten the waiting timein the formatting process until the defect number exceeding error occursin the same way as the first embodiment.

When the magneto-optic disk 23 is inserted in the magneto-optic diskdrive 22, the detecting portion 24 of the magneto-optic disk drive 22obtains the medium information that is recorded in the control trackinformation area (Step #301). When the host 21 issues a command forformatting the magneto-optic disk 23 to the magneto-optic disk drive 22(Step #302), the controlling portion 25 of the magneto-optic disk drive22 informs the formatting portion 26 of a zone to be formatted in thedecreasing order of the number of potential defects that is registeredcorresponding to each medium information that is detected by thedetecting portion 24 (Step #303).

In the example of FIG. 7, the formatting process starts from No. 15 zonewhose number of the potential defects is the largest. Then, theformatting process is performed in the order of No. 11 zone, No. 2 zone,No. 8 zone and No. 5 zone. After that, zones whose number of thepotential defects is the smallest are formatted in the order of zonenumber.

The controlling portion 25 memorizes a table of the relationship betweenthe medium information such as a manufacturer and the decreasing orderof the number of potential defects in advance. The controlling portion25 determines the order of zones to be formatted by referring this tablewith the medium information obtained by the detecting portion 24. Themedium information that is used for estimating the decreasing order ofthe number of potential defects can include not only the manufacturerbut also a production lot number and a stamper (die) number used in themanufacturing process.

The process from Step #304 through Step #311 in FIG. 8 is the same asthe Step #204 through Step #211 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 6,so the explanation is omitted.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be explained withreference to FIGS. 4, 9 and 10. FIG. 9 shows a table of the formattingprocess order in the magneto-optic disk drive according to the thirdembodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a flowchart of theformatting process. The block diagram concerning the formatting processis the same as the first embodiment shown in FIG. 4.

In the present embodiment, the magneto-optic disk 23 has the storagecapacity of 1.3 gigabytes, and the data recording area is divided into18 zones. The allowable maximum number of defects is 4,437. It isassumed that zones of No. 0 through No. 12 have no defect, and zones ofNo. 13 through No. 17 have 100, 500, 1,000, 2,000 and 838 defects,respectively as shown in FIG. 9, though it is an extreme example. Inthis case, since the total number of defects is 4,438 exceeding theallowable maximum number of defects 4,437, a defect number exceedingerror occurs. If the formatting process is exceeded in the continuousorder from No. 0 zone to No. 17 zone as in the conventional method, thedefect number exceeding error will occur just before the formattingprocess time (approximately 20 minutes) passes.

In the present embodiment, the controlling portion 25 informs theformatting portion 26 of a zone to be formatted next at an interval ofone or more zones. In an example of FIG. 9, zones are formatted at theinterval of two zones such a way as No. 0 zone, No. 3 zone and No. 6zone. If the number of defects in a zone is larger than a predeterminedthreshold, zones neighboring the current zone are designated to beformatted prior to the next zone at the interval and informed to theformatting portion 26.

In the example of FIG. 9, the threshold is preset to 200. The formattingprocess proceeds at the interval of two zones to the sixth zone of No.15, when the number of defects exceeds the threshold of 200. If thenumber of defects in No. 15 zone does not exceed the threshold of 200,the formatting process goes on from the No. 1 zone at the interval ofzones. However, the number of defects exceeds 200 (becomes 1,000) in theexample of FIG. 9, so the unformatted zones neighboring the No. 15 zoneare formatted prior to the next zone at the interval. In the example ofFIG. 9, total four zones, i.e., two zones before and the two zones afterthe No. 15 zone (No. 13, 14, 16 and 17 zones) are unformatted.Therefore, these four zones are formatted before backing to No. 1 zoneso as to continue the formatting process at the interval of two zones.

However, in the example of FIG. 9, when No. 17 zone that is the tenthobject of the formatting process is formatted, the accumulated number ofdefects becomes 4,438, which exceeds the allowable maximum number ofdefects of 4,437. Thus, a defect number exceeding error occurs. Namely,the defect number exceeding error occurs earlier than the conventionalmethod in which the defect number exceeding error occurs in theeighteenth (the last) zone, so that the waste of time can be reduced.

In the flowchart shown in FIG. 10, the detecting portion 24 obtains themedium information of the magneto-optic disk 23 (Step #401). Then, thehost 21 issues the format command to the magneto-optic disk drive 22(Step #402). The controlling portion 25 informs the formatting portion26 of the zone to be formatted next at the interval of one or pluralzones (i.e., in a discontinuous order) as explained above (Step #404).However, after the second repeating process, it is checked whether thenumber of defects in the previously formatted zone has exceeded thethreshold (Step #403). If the number of defects has not exceeded thethreshold, the next zone to be formatted is designated at the interval(in a discontinuous order) as explained above. If the number of defectshas exceeded the threshold, zones neighboring the current zone areinformed to the formatting portion 26 as the next zone to be formatted(Step #405). The process from Step #406 through Step #413 is the same asthe Step #204 through Step #211 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 6,so the explanation is omitted.

This embodiment utilizes the characteristics that zones having manydefects have the tendency to gather in an area and the formattingprocess is executed at the interval of one or more zones (in adiscontinuous order), so that the area having many defects can bedetected as early as possible. If a zone whose number of defects islarger than the threshold is detected, zones neighboring the currentzone are formatted next, since there is high possibility that thesezones also have defects. Thus, if the magneto-optic disk 23 generatesthe defect number exceeding error, it can occur at as early stage aspossible in the formatting process.

Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be explained.

FIG. 11 shows a map of a magneto-optic disk concerning a fourthembodiment of the present invention. The magneto-optic disk of thisembodiment has a data recording area that is divided into twenty-twobands (Band #1 through Band #22). These bands correspond to the zones inthe above-explained embodiment in which the data recording area isdivided into plural zones in the radial direction. It depends on thekind of a disk recording medium which term is used, “zone” or “band,”though there is not a special difference between them. In themagneto-optic disk of FIG. 11, the first band (Band #1) includes two DMAareas (DMA #1 and DMA #2), and the 22nd band (Band #22) includes two DMAareas (DMA #3 and DMA #4).

FIG. 12 shows a structure of a physical address indicating informationof a sector that is a unit for data recording in the data recordingarea. In this example, the physical address is made of four bytesincluding five bits of band number, twelve bits of track number andseven bits of frame number. In addition, one bit of flag is included forrecognizing a land or a groove in the case of a land and grooverecording type magneto-optic disk in which data are recorded in bothlands and grooves.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a process that the controlling portion ofthe magneto-optic disk drive of this embodiment performs. The blockdiagram concerning the formatting process is the same as theabove-mentioned embodiments shown in FIG. 4.

When receiving the format command from the host 21 (Step #501), thecontrolling portion 25 of the magneto-optic disk drive 22 executes theformat (also referred to as certification) of the DMA #1 area first(Step #502 and Step #503). In this process, predetermined data (e.g.,data incrementing from zero) are written on each sector from the leadingsector to the end sector of the DMA #1. Then, the data are read out andare verified. As a result, if a defective sector is detected (YES inStep #504), it is memorized in a DMA inspection result memory portionshown in FIG. 14 that there is a DMA defect. Namely, a DMA #1 flag isreset (Step #505). If the defective sector is not detected (NO in Step#504), the DMA #1 flag is set (Step #506).

Next, the DMA number is incremented (Step #507), and the DMA #2 area isformatted by the formatting process from Step #503 through Step #506. Inthe same way, the above-mentioned process is repeated until the DMA #4area is formatted (YES in Step #508). Though four DMA areas areformatted in the order from the DMA #1 in this embodiment, the number ofDMA areas and the order of formatting can be changed.

After all DMA areas are formatted, the data memorized in the DMAinspection result memory portion are read out. If it is decided that allDMA areas have defects (YES in Step #509), the formatting process of theuser data area is not executed. The host is informed of the finish inerror (Step #510), and the formatting process is finished. If there isat least one normal DMA area, the formatting process of the user dataarea is performed (Step #511).

If the all DMA areas have defects, the magneto-optic disk cannot be usednormally. According to the above-mentioned process, such an error can bedecided in the shortest period in the formatting process.

FIG. 15 is a detail flowchart of the process formatting the user dataarea, which is the process of Step #511 in the flowchart of FIG. 13. Ifa part of plural DMA areas has a defect, the formatting process isexecuted from the user data area of the band (zone) that includes theDMA area having a defect.

In FIG. 15, the band number of the DMA area having a defect iscalculated in accordance with the data memorized in the inspectionresult memory portion shown in FIG. 14 (Step #601), and the user dataarea of this band is formatted first (Step #602). If the number ofdefective sectors overflows (YES in Step #603), the host is informed ofan abnormal finish (finish in the defect overflow error) (Step #604),and the formatting process is finished. Otherwise (NO in Step #603), theprocess continues until all data areas are formatted (YES in Step #605).

Namely, in accordance with the data memorized in the inspection resultmemory portion, the number of a band to be formatted next is calculated(Step #606), and the process from Step #602 through Step #605 isrepeated. When all data areas are formatted (YES in Step #605), theformat result of the user data area is registered in the DMA (Step#607). The host is informed of the normal finish (Step #608), and theformatting process is finished.

FIG. 16 shows a table of an example of calculating the number of theband to be formatted next in accordance with the data memorized in theinspection result memory portion in Step #601 and Step #606 of FIG. 15.In a case A, all the four DMA areas have defects, and the process isfinished without executing the formatting process of the user data area.

In the case B of FIG. 16, only the DMA #1 is normal, and the DMAs #2, #3and #4 have defects. In this case, the user data area of the Band #22including two defective DMA area (see FIG. 1) is formatted first. Next,the user data area of Band #1 including one defective DMA area isformatted. In the case C, only the DMA #2 is normal. In this case, theorder of the formatting process is the same as the case B.

On the contrary in the case D and case E, the Band #1 includes twodefective DMA area. Therefore, the user data area of the Band #1 is formatted first, and the user data area of the Band #22 including onedefective DMA area is formatted next.

In the case F, two defective DMA areas are included in the Band #22, andthe other two DMA areas are normal. In this case, the user data area ofthe Band #22 is formatted first, and any other band can follow. In thecase G, H, I or J, one defective DMAA area is included in each of Band#1 and Band #22, and the other two DMA areas are normal. In this case,any one of Band #1 and Band #22 is formatted first, and the other isformatted next. In the case K, two defective DMA areas are included inthe Band #1, and the other two DMA areas are normal. In this case, theuser data area of the Band #1 is formatted first, and any other band canfollow.

In the cases L and N, one defective DMA area is included in the Band#22, and the remaining three DMA areas are normal. In this case, userdata area of the Band #22 is formatted first, and any other band canfollow. In the eases M and O, one defective DMA area is included in theBand #1, and the remaining three DMA areas are normal. In this case, theuser data area of the Band #1 is formatted first, and any other band canfollow. In the case P, each of the four DMA areas has no defect. In thiscase, the formatting process can be executed in any order.

As explained above, the formatting order is determined by decidingwhether the user data area of the band including each DMA area has manypotential defects in accordance with the format result of the plural DMAareas. Therefore, if the magneto-optic disk generates the defect numberexceeding error, it can occur as early as possible in the formattingprocess.

In addition, concerning other user data areas of bands except thatincluding the DMA area, the formatting order can be determined by themethod explained in the above-mentioned embodiments, so that the defectnumber exceeding error can be detected as early as possible. Forexample, in the second formatting process or after the second, asexplained in the first embodiment, the formatting process is executed inthe decreasing number of potential defects in a band in accordance withthe defect information of the magneto-optic disk that was detected inthe last formatting process. Hereinafter, an example will be explainedwith reference to a flowchart shown in FIG. 17, in which the firstembodiment is combined to the present embodiment for determining theorder of formatting the user data area.

In general, the magneto-optic disk drive 22 performs the process ofreading out the information of the DMA area of the magneto-optic disk 23and memorizing the information in a memory within the magneto-optic diskdrive 22 when the magneto-optic disk 23 is inserted. On this occasion,if the DMA has defect information detected in the last formattingprocess, a flag is set in the box (bit 0) of the DMA inspection resultmemory portion for indicating whether there is defective sectorinformation as shown in FIG. 14.

In the flowchart shown in FIG. 17, when receiving the format commandfrom the host 21 (Step #701), the controlling portion 25 of themagneto-optic disk drive 22 initializes a variable n to zero, which isused for reading out the number of a band to be formatted from theformat order memorizing portion that will be explained later (Step#702). Then, the flag in the inspection result memory portion ischecked, which indicates whether there is defective sector information(Step #703). If the flag is set, i.e., there is defective sectorinformation, a band number is stored in the format order memorizingportion so that the formatting process is executed in the decreasingorder of the number of defects in a band in accordance with the defectinformation detected in the last formatting process and memorized in thememory (Step #704). If the flag is not set, i.e., there is no defectivesector information, a band number is stored in the format ordermemorizing portion so that the formatting process is executed in thenormal order of the band number (Step #705).

FIG. 18 shows a table of information memorized in the format ordermemorizing portion. The defective sectors are registered as thedefective sector information in a physical address format, whichincludes a band number, a track number and a frame number as shown inFIG. 12. Therefore, the band including a defective sector is decided bythe band number within the physical address.

When the information memorized in the format order memorizing portion,i.e., the order of the band number in the formatting process isestablished as explained above, the controlling portion 25 reads thenumber of a band to be formatted first (n=0) out of the format ordermemorizing portion (Step #706), and executes the format of the band(Step #707). If the defect number overflow error occurs (YES in Step#708), the host 21 is informed of the finish in error, and the processis finished. If the defect number overflow error does not occur, untilall data areas are formatted (YES in Step #710), the variable n isincremented (Step #711), and the process from the Step #706 through Step#710 is repeated. When all data areas are formatted (YES in Step #710),the host is informed of the normal finish (Step #712), and theformatting process is finished.

FIG. 19 shows a table of information memorized in the format ordermemorizing portion when the magneto-optic disk 23 is a land and groovetype recording medium in which data are recorded both in lands andgrooves. In this example, when calculating the number of defectivesectors for each band, it is calculated for the land and the grooveseparately, so that the order of the formatting process can bedetermined not only by the band number but also by the land or thegroove unit. Therefore, the number indicating the order of theinspection in the left end box can be 44 kinds from the first to theforty-fourth, i.e., two times the number in the table of FIG. 18. Bit 7is a bit for discriminating the land or the groove.

FIG. 20 is a block diagram concerning a formatting process of amagneto-optic disk drive according to a fifth embodiment of the presentinvention. In FIG. 20, a numeral 31 denotes a magneto-optic disk medium,a numeral 32 denotes a magneto-optic disk drive for writing and readingthe magneto-optic disk medium 31, and a numeral 33 denotes a host forissuing a physical format command to the magneto-optic disk drive 32.

The magneto-optic disk drive 32 includes a physical formatting portion34 for writing initializing data on the magneto-optic disk medium 31 forthe certification, a memory 35, a defect information obtaining portion36, a process time informing portion 37, and a quasi certificationportion 38.

The memory 35 memorizes information from the host 33 and defectinformation of the magneto-optic disk medium 31. The defect informationobtaining portion 36 obtains sector addresses of a primary defectlocation (PDL) and a secondary defect location (SDL) included in the DMAwhen the magneto-optic disk medium 31 is inserted in the magneto-opticdisk drive 32. The process time informing portion 37 calculates the timenecessary for the physical format and informs the host of the time. Theoperation of the quasi certification portion 38 will be explained later.

FIGS. 21 and 22 show a flowchart of a physical formatting processaccording to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. In Step#801, a magneto-optic disk medium 31 is inserted in the magneto-opticdisk drive 32, when the defect information obtaining portion 36 obtainsa PDL address and an SDL address, which are stored in the memory 35(Step #802). In Step #803, the host 33 issues the format command to themagneto-optic disk drive 32, when the physical formatting portion 34calculates the number (including zero) of SDLs of each zone inaccordance with the SDI, address that was read out of the memory 35(Step #804).

In Step #805, the process time informing portion 37 calculates a totaltime of the physical format process in accordance with an average timeof certification for each zone. Namely, the average certification timesfor zones to be certified are added so as to calculate the timenecessary for the physical format, and the host is informed of the time.A user can do other jobs until the physical format is finished. Theprocess of Step #805 (or the process time informing portion 37) is notessential but can be omitted.

In the process after Step #806, the physical formatting portion 34executes the certification for each zone. In Step #807, it is checkedwhether the current zone includes SDL. If there is an SDL, initializingdata are written in Step #808 for the certification process, and thenext zone will be processed (Step #809). If there is no SDL in thecurrent zone, the process goes to Step #809 without executing thecertification. Defective sectors that were detected in the certificationprocess are memorized in a memory 35.

In Step #810, it is checked whether all zones have been initialized(formatted or certified). The process from Step #807 through Step #810is repeated until all zones are initialized. When all zones areinitialized, the physical formatting portion 34 merges the PDL that wasin the uncertified zone before the physical format and defective sectorsthat were newly detected in the certification of erasing, writing andverifying so as to record it as a new PDL in the defect informationrecording area (DMA) of the magneto-optic disk medium 31 in Step #811.In the final Step #812, the end of the physical format is informed tothe host 33 and the process is finished.

In general, it is considered that a zone having no SDL (secondary defectinformation) has not been used after the physical format or has notgenerated a writing error, so the zone does not require thecertification again. According to this presumption, the presentembodiment can shorten the time necessary for the physical format byomitting the certification of zones having no SDL in the physicalformat.

In a variation of the above-mentioned embodiment, a quasi certificationcan be executed instead of omitting the certification of the currentzone having no SDL in Step #807. The quasi certification portion 38shown in FIG. 20 can work for this process. In FIG. 22, if it is NO inStep #807, the quasi certification portion 38 executes the quasicertification before going to Step #809.

There are two kinds of well-known methods for the quasi certification.One of them is a quasi certification that performs only a read check ofdata (verify with initialized data such as “CF23” in hexadecimal). Theother is a quasi certification that performs only a read check of ECC(data for check). The latter requires shorter time for the process butcannot detect an error that beyond the detection ability of ECC. In anymethod, the total time of format process becomes longer than the casewhere no certification process is executed, but the reliability of theformat increases. In addition, the time necessary for the quasicertification is still shorter than the case where the certification oferasing, writing and verifying is performed.

When the quasi certification is performed, defective sectors that weredetected in the quasi certification and defective sectors that weredetected in the certification of erasing, writing and verifying aremerged, and the newly generated PDL is recorded in the defectinformation recording area (DMA) of the magneto-optic disk medium 31 inStep #811 of FIG. 22.

FIG. 23 is a block diagram concerning a formatting process of amagneto-optic disk drive according to a sixth embodiment of the presentinvention. There is only one difference between the sixth embodiment andthe fifth embodiment shown in FIG. 20. It is that the defect informationobtaining portion 36 is replaced with an initialized data readingportion 39.

FIGS. 24 and 25 show a flowchart of a physical formatting processaccording to the sixth embodiment. In Step #901, the magneto-optic diskmedium 31 is inserted in the magneto-optic disk drive 32, when thedefect information obtaining portion 36 obtains a PDL address and an SDLaddress, which are stored in the memory 35 (Step #902). In Step #903,the host 33 issues the format command to the magneto-optic disk drive32, when the initialized data reading portion 39 reads all data of thedesignated zone (Step #904).

If a read error occurs (YES in Step #905), the reading process of thezone is halted, and the memory 35 memorizes that the current zone is theobject of the certification (Step #907) before going to the next zone tobe read (Step #908). If data different from the initialized data (e.g.,“CF23” in hexadecimal) are detected in the data of the designated zone(NO in Step #906), the reading process of the zone is also halted, andthe memory 35 memorizes that the current zone is the object of thecertification (Step #907) before going to the next zone to be read (Step#908).

In Step #909, it is checked whether all zones have been read. Theprocess from Step #904 through Step #909 is repeated until all zones areread. After all zones are read, the process time informing portion 37adds average certification times of the zones to be certified so as tocalculate the total time necessary for the physical format in Step #910,which is informed to the host. The process of Step #910 (or the processtime informing portion 37) is not essential and can be omitted.

In the process after Step #911, the physical formatting portion 34executes the certification for each zone. In Step #912, it is checkedwhether the current zone is a zone to be certified. As explained above,zones to be certified are memorized in the memory 35 in Step #907. Ifthe current zone is a zone to be certified, initializing data arewritten for executing the certification process in Step #913, followedby the process for the next zone (Step #914). If the current zone is nota zone to be certified, the process goes to Step #914 without executingthe certification. Defective sectors that were detected in thecertification process are memorized in the memory 35.

In Step #915, it is checked whether all zones have been initialized. Theprocess from Step #912 through Step #915 is repeated until all zones areinitialized. After all zones are initialized, the physical formattingportion 34 merges the PDL that was in the uncertified zone before thephysical format and defective sectors that were newly detected in thecertification of erasing, writing and verifying so as to record it as anew PDL in the defect information recording area (DMA) of themagneto-optic disk medium 31 in Step #916. In the final Step #917, theend of the physical format is informed to the host 33 and the process isfinished.

In general, there is high possibility that a zone in which initializeddata remain has not been used and does not require the certificationagain. According to this presumption, the present embodiment can shortenthe time necessary for the physical format by omitting the certificationof zones in which initialized data remain in the physical format. Inorder to decide whether the current zone needs the certification, thedata reading step (Step #904) is required. However, the additional stepof only reading requires shorter time than the certification of erasing,writing and verifying.

In a variation of the above-mentioned embodiment, only a part of datacan be read instead of reading all data of the designated zone in Step#904. For example, a predetermined number of sectors of the leadingportion, the middle portion and the end portion of each zone can beread. If data different from the initialized data are detected in thosedata (NO in Step #906), the zone is memorized as a zone to be certifiedin Step #907.

Thus, the reading time for deciding whether the current zone needs thecertification can be shortened. As a result, the total time necessaryfor the physical format can be further shortened.

In another variation of the above-mentioned embodiment, a quasicertification can be executed instead of omitting the certificationprocess when the current zone is not to be certified, i.e., datadifferent from the initialized data were not detected in Step #912. Thequasi certification portion 38 shown in FIG. 23 performs this process.In FIG. 25, if it is NO in Step #912, the quasi certification portion 38executes the quasi certification before going to Step #914.

The quasi certification performs only the read check of the data or theECC (data of check) as explained above. The total time of the formatprocess becomes longer than the case where no certification process isexecuted, but the reliability increases. In addition, the time necessaryfor the quasi certification is still shorter than the case where thecertification of erasing, writing and verifying is performed.

When the quasi certification is performed, defective sectors that weredetected in the quasi certification and defective sectors that weredetected in the certification of erasing, writing and verifying aremerged, and the newly generated PDL is recorded in the defectinformation recording area (DMA) of the magneto-optic disk medium 31 inStep #916 of FIG. 25.

The several embodiments of the present invention explained above can becombined in any combination.

As explained above, the present invention provides a method offormatting a disk recording medium as well as an information recordingand reproducing apparatus in which the formatting process is executednot in the order of logical address from inner radius to outer radius orthe opposite order as the conventional method, but in the discontinuousorder of the number of potential defects in accordance with the resultof the last format or characteristics of the disk recording medium.Therefore, if the defect number exceeding error occurs, it can bedetected in earlier stage than the conventional formatting process.

In addition, the certification including three steps of erasing, writingand verifying is not executed for zones that are considered to requireno certification, or only a quasi certification is executed for thosezones, so that the total time necessary for the physical format can beshortened.

While the presently preferred embodiments of the present invention havebeen shown and described, it will be understood that the presentinvention is not limited thereto, and that various changes andmodifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departingfrom the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for recording and reproducing digital information using a disk recording medium in which a data recording area is divided into plural zones in the radial direction, and defect information is managed for each of the plural zones, the apparatus comprising: means for formatting the disk recording medium; means for detecting medium information such as a manufacturer of the disk recording medium; and means for controlling the order of format by informing the formatting means of a zone to be formatted next in the preregistered order corresponding to the medium information detected by the detecting means.
 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the disk recording medium is a land and groove recording type in which data are recorded in both lands and grooves, defect information of each zone is managed for lands and grooves separately, and the order of format is determined for the lands and the grooves of each zone. 